"Cough, cough, cough…"
The cheers from the sea below shattered the clouds, and Wright, hidden within a more distant cloud bank, took several deep breaths to steady himself against the dizziness.
"Heh! I overdid it… Sealing a mere ship spirit into a physical form took this much energy?"
"But at least it proved the theory I developed from studying the Yomi Yomi no Mi… The only issue is that it caused too much commotion—I need to refine the process."
After carefully researching Brook's Yomi Yomi no Mi, Wright discovered a way to use the power of the Holy Light to seal intangible spiritual entities or souls into a physical form.
At the same time, he also found a way for the Holy Light to directly harm souls—but only under special circumstances, such as when a soul is incomplete or exists outside a body.
Although sealing a spiritual entity was an extremely rare application, using it here helped resolve a great regret—not just for the Straw Hats, but for himself as well.
"A ship spirit can foresee a vessel's crisis and is the best helmsman… With Merry here, even without Jinbe, we won't have to worry about lacking a skilled navigator."
"After all, this is my personal adventure crew… Hahaha!"
...
Marine Headquarters.
"Oh? Senpai, you… went to see her?"
"Ara ara… You really called it. This is quite something…"
Kuzan collapsed onto the couch, sighing helplessly.
"I went to see Nico Robin…"
"She said she couldn't just stand by and watch them die. Ever since the Ohara incident, for the past twenty years, she's been a ticking time bomb, never finding a place to truly belong."
"But now, she's finally found comrades she can trust… Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"I have an obligation to oversee her life, and this is something she'll have to prove to me herself…"
Kuzan shifted into a more comfortable position and looked at Wright.
"Hey! Honestly, with the Straw Hats' combat abilities, CP9 was at best evenly matched with them, wasn't it?"
"They just kept a low profile before, never really showing their strength. But now, CP9 has become their stepping stone to fame!"
"Well… They are my 'personal adventure crew,' after all. Right, senpai?"
Wright chuckled. Compared to their counterparts in the original timeline, the Straw Hat crew was far stronger at this stage.
Not only were Luffy and Zoro—who served as the main combatants—significantly more powerful, but even support members like Nami and Chopper had greatly improved.
As a result, they handled CP9 without struggling as much as in the original events.
"The Buster Call failed to wipe them out. I don't know if that's good or bad, but Spandam… actually went through with it."
Kuzan massaged his temples in frustration.
"Enies Lobby ended up in ruins again… Now I have to write another report."
"That's just a minor issue. At least, after this incident, the World Government will be focusing more on pirates, which makes our next steps much smoother."
Wright waved the documents in his hand.
"I didn't expect Whitebeard to send not just Marco but also two division commanders to assist him—Fifth Division's swordsman 'Flower Sword' Vista and Sixteenth Division's Izo, a dual gunman."
"From the looks of it, their strategy is for Vista to take the offensive, Marco to provide close-combat support, and Izo to assist from a distance, all working together to hunt down Blackbeard… Seems like Whitebeard is determined to drag him back for 'proper education.'"
"Oh? Is this the latest intel? They've already clashed?"
Kuzan's interest was piqued. For Blackbeard to dig his own grave to this extent… even as an admiral, Kuzan found it impressive.
"They've fought several times already. Blackbeard hasn't been captured, but he also can't suppress non-Devil Fruit users like Vista and Izo effectively—let alone Marco."
Wright flipped through the reports. "He can't win, but he's still able to escape. Every clash has ended the same way."
"Even three-on-one, Teach still manages to slip away? That guy really isn't simple… And to think he doesn't even have a bounty—what a surprise."
Kuzan scratched his head. "So where are they now?"
"Blackbeard is picking up speed. He should be arriving at Water 7 soon."
"Water 7 again… Don't tell me he's actually after Moria?"
Kuzan yawned lazily.
"Ara ara… With three of Whitebeard's division commanders involved, plus Blackbeard, it'll be hard to resolve this quickly without sending an admiral. If the fight drags on, escaping will become a challenge for them."
"Taking down Moria while under pressure from Marco and the others? I doubt it."
Wright smirked. "Teach may be arrogant, but he isn't stupid. If Marco and the others catch up to him while he's engaged, he'd be done for."
"I'd love to see him try it, unless…"
"Unless?"
"Unless he knows someone else has already defeated Moria. Picking up scraps is something he excels at."
"No way… Are you saying the Straw Hats will face off against Moria?"
Kuzan sat up straight, suddenly alarmed. Nico Robin was still with the Straw Hats.
"Moria is a Warlord of the Sea! You're putting way too much faith in them! Even if they defeated CP9, Moria won't be easy to deal with."
"Well, they're about to reach the Florian Triangle soon. We'll just have to wait and see…"
"Sengoku was furious at Garp, yelling at him in front of an entire battleship crew for openly admitting he's Straw Hat's grandfather."
Wright listened to Kuzan's grumbling with a mix of amusement and helplessness.
"So, you got back so quickly by hitching a ride on Garp's ship?"
Kuzan waved a hand in resignation.
"Ara ara… I was supposed to take my time, but who would've thought Straw Hat's new ship would be so…"
He tilted his head in thought before a smirk crept onto his lips.
"Unbelievable!"
At that moment, Kuzan recalled the scene vividly—
Garp, after being thoroughly berated by Sengoku, was ordered to sink the Straw Hat crew's ship.
As Ace sighed in resignation and Koby gasped in shock, Garp began hurling cannonballs at his grandson's ship—as a farewell gift.
But Luffy, after being beaten senseless by Garp and Ace earlier, quickly regained his fighting spirit upon seeing Koby.
The Straw Hats had gained two new members—shipwright Franky and their new vessel, the Thousand Sunny!
Each crewmate had their own accomplishments—
Luffy, once unknown, now had a staggering 300 million bounty. An absurd amount, but understandable given what they did at Enies Lobby and his battle prowess against Rob Lucci.
Zoro, with his immense strength, received a 120-million bounty—but unfortunately, his beloved blade, Yubashiri, was destroyed, leaving him heartbroken.
Nami got her first bounty—practically a glamour shot—which, much to her secret delight, made her quite popular.
Robin's bounty remained unchanged, while Sanji… got a hand-drawn bounty poster, leaving him devastated.
As for Chopper, his new 50-beri bounty left him both enraged and relieved—maybe now he wouldn't be hunted by doctors?
Usopp and Franky also received bounties, making it official—the entire Straw Hat crew was now wanted.
Ah, and Merry? She wasn't wanted. She was too busy playing with the Sunny's emerging ship spirit.
"Grandpa, Ace, Koby!"
"Great seeing you all!"
"We're really running now! See you later!"
"Everyone in Water 7! We're off!"
"Coup de Burst!"
The Thousand Sunny soared into the sky, dodging Garp's attack and flying out of the battleship's range.
Garp let out a small smile. "Not bad."
Ace chuckled. "Well, looks like they got away, Grandpa."
"Yeah… I've confirmed it." Kuzan, lounging in his chair, muttered lazily.
"Hahaha! That's my grandson!"
Koby was drenched in sweat. The admiral, the vice admiral, and even the captain all said the same thing...
"Luffy-san... he's so cool..."
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